Everyday For Life Canada: February 2013

Office of Religious Freedom should first focus on Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has chosen Dr. Andrew Bennett, a Catholic professor of history of Christianity at Ottawa’s Augustine College, as ambassador of the newly established Office of Religious Freedom. Harper said the creation of the office comes on the heels of increasing persecution against people on the basis of faith. We hope the Prime Minister realizes that his observation applies just as much to Canada as it does to many other countries in the world where there's little religious freedom.

If the Office of Religious Freedom is to have any credibility, it must make it a priority to make sure that Canadians have true religious freedom at home. This doesn't mean merely the liberty to community worship and private prayer.

Feb

Margaret Somervillle makes a solid argument against euthanasia

The Canadian bioethicist and professor of medicine and law Margaret Somerville has been a strong voice against euthanasia. Her reasoning for not passing a law that would allow doctors to kill is especially important at this time as Quebec considers passing legislation to legally approve doctor assisted-suicide. Canada has been down this road before and we have made bad choices with catastrophic moral consequences as in the case of abortion.

Feb

Cardinal Ouellet makes us humbly proud to be Canadian

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet has been mentioned as a potential candidate to be the next pope, now that Pope Benedict XVI has announced his resignation. At the conclave to choose a new pontiff, there will be two other Canadian Cardinals Jean-Claude Turcotte from Quebec and Thomas Collins from Toronto. Some have begun speculating on Cardinal Ouellet's chances of being elected the next pope or who will be the next pope. Instead, what's worth noting is Cardinal Ouellet's shepherding.

Feb

Why do children need to be taught the theory of transgenderism?

Why have our schools, gradually over the last ten years or so, come to accept a very hyper-sexualized curricula? The recent campaign efforts to indoctrinate children and promote homosexuality in Ontario classrooms can be seen in most Western countries. In Ontario, Bill 13 makes it all legal for teachers and activist groups to teach children that they are not just boys and girls, but that they can be either sex or both, plus a number of other sexual orientations.

Feb

Family Day 2013: make it truly a special day

On February 18, 2013, it's Family Day again in Canada, at least it is for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Why not make it a special day since this the Year of Faith? But whether you're a Christian or you follow another religion or have no faith at all, Family Day is a great opportunity for parents to remind themselves that a good family life is central to the make-up of a healthy, functioning society.

Feb

The new Ontario Minister of Education: not a friend to Christians

To know something about the new Minister of Education, Liz Sandals, in Premier Kathleen Wynne's cabinet, we need to remember Bill 157. How many parents recall that the Liberal government with their Safe Schools initiative passed Bill 157 "Keeping our Kids Safe at School" last February 1, 2010? This piece of school legislation, which could have students punished for questioning any of the new sexual orientations, was fully backed by Liz Sandals.

Feb

S.E.C.R.E.T: just another shade of grey

Do we really need another erotic book on the Canadian market? Erotica and sex sell and so the answer is, yes, especially if you're a book publisher and a writer of this stuff. Just look at the profits generated by the bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey. Now a Canadian author, Lisa Gabriele, has written S.E.C.R.E.T using the pseudonym L. Marie Adeline. She has written a number of other books, but this is her first book all about sex. This is what sells and so why not write about it.

Feb

Lent: 40 days for more prayer and devotion

Today is Ash Wednesday, and we start our Lenten pilgrimage once again towards Christ. We want to clean our hearts and souls and get closer to Christ. It's a time of greater prayer and devotion. It's a time to go to confession and be healed. It's a time of abstinence, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. God asks us to "Repent and believe in the Gospel." We can spiritually renew our lives if we wish to do so. When we turn away from sin, we are born again as children of God.

Feb

Pope Benedict XVI will be greatly missed

Today the entire Church and the world has learned the surprising news that Pope Benedict XVI will resign by the end of the month. The pontiff will be greatly missed by the entire universal Church. This is a mixture of both sad and happy news: sad news because his steady, courageous and spiritual shepherding has been truly a gift and a blessing to the Church and to the world; happy news because we wish this faithful and good servant of Christ a peaceful and healthy retirement to a life of prayer.

Feb

A spiritual roadmap issued for the Archdiocese of Toronto

We welcome the fact that the Archdiocese of Toronto has released its pastoral plan. It's been sometime now since the diocese was given a spiritual roadmap. We hope that parishes will do what they can to make sure the plan produces many spiritual fruits to strengthen our faith and build the common good. The plan's focus is on five main directions each with a number of goals. The directions are parish life, vocations, evangelization, Catholic outreach in justice and love and St.